A biography of the well-known, early 20th century artist. Escher's work is famous today for the imaginary worlds he created. He combined bizarre creatures and spatial illusions with craftsmanship and love of detail. Born in Holland in 1898, the son of a distinguished engineer, he showed a talent for drawing at school (though, oddly, in view of his later work, not for mathematics). He was taught to make linocuts and later went on to the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem where he devoted himself to the graphic arts, particularly woodcuts.